Spears/peckers

Douglas G. Wilson douglas at NB.NET
Tue Jan 16 06:15:00 UTC 2007


>Perhaps it's worth mentioning that there is a parallel to
>"peckerwood" in "whickerbill." It, too, can be a bird, a penis (or
>the foreskin of it), or a yokel, with the bonus meaning of "a thin,
>raised edge on a airfoil or fan blade that adds downward force."
>
>I did a bit of digging on the term in 2005. I did not define the bird
>portion of the term, as that is widely covered elsewhere.

I can't find "whickerbill" [bird] right now. Where is it covered, I wonder?

"Whickerbill" = "whippoorwill" maybe? Seems likely enough assuming an
onomatopoeic origin, I suppose.

-- Doug Wilson


--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.410 / Virus Database: 268.16.12/630 - Release Date: 1/15/2007

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list